Атлант расправил плечи

           "

           "Nowastoyourtemporarysuccessor..."

           "Yes?"

           "Youdon’treallywantittobeEddieWillers,doyou?"

           "Yes.Ido."

           "Buthecouldn’tevenactlikeavice-President!Hedoesn’thavethepresence,themanner,the—"

           "Heknowshisworkandmine.HeknowswhatIwant.Itrusthim.

           I’llbeabletoworkwithhim."

           "Don’tyouthinkitwouldbebettertopickoneofourmoredistinguishedyoungmen,somebodyfromagoodfamily,withmoresocialpoiseand—"

           "It’sgoingtobeEddieWillers,Jim."

           Hesighed."Allright.Only...onlywemustbecarefulaboutit.

           ...Wedon’twantpeopletosuspectthatit’syouwho’restillrunningTaggartTranscontinental.Nobodymustknowit."

           "Everybodywillknowit,Jim.Butsincenobodywilladmititopenly,everybodywillbesatisfied."

           "Butwemustpreserveappearances."

           "Oh,certainly!Youdon’thavetorecognizemeonthestreet,ifyoudon’twantto.Youcansayyou’veneverseenmebeforeandI’llsayI’veneverheardofTaggartTranscontinental."

           Heremainedsilent,tryingtothink,staringdownatthefloor.

           Sheturnedtolookatthegroundsbeyondthewindow.Theskyhadtheeven,gray-whitepallorofwinter.